British Government and Politics
Parliament
Parliament is the seat of the UK government.
The main functions of Parliament are to pass laws, to finance through taxation the work of government, to scrutinise government policy and administration, including proposals for expenditure, and to debate the major issues of the day.
General Elections
In a general election, every area in the country votes for one Member of Parliament (MP) to represent them in the House of Commons. There are 650 geographical areas, called constituencies. To be eligible to vote in a general election you must be registered to vote and aged 18 or over.
Each eligible voter has one vote in their local constituency, and the candidate with the most votes becomes the MP for that area. This voting system is called 'first past the post'. Usually the political party with the most MPs then forms the government – though if there is no overall winner, a hung parliament may result. Two or more parties with a combined majority of MPs may form a coalition government.
There has to be a general election at least every five years. The Prime Minister decides when to call an election. The last general election was held on 6 May 2010.
If an MP dies or resigns between elections, there is a by-election in their constituency.
Questions:
1) How many parliamentary constituencies are there in the UK?
2) How often are general elections usually held in the UK?
3) What type of voting system does the UK currently have?
4) How old do you have to be to vote in a UK election?
5) Which party usually forms the government after a UK general election?
6) What is a "hung parliament"?
7) What does the acronym MP stand for?
8) What is a by-election, and when do by-elections usually take place?
Vocabulary
Read and translate the words and example sentences.
ambassador | Ronald Weise is the ambassador of the USA in Slovakia. |
blanket primary | 3 States presently have blanket primaries, while an additional 21 States have open primaries and 8 States have semi-closed primaries. |
campaign | He took a campaign tour of West Michigan last week. |
candidate | The party has put up a candidate . |
caucus | Caucuses are held in New Mexico and North Dakota. |
citizen | She's a citizen of the USA. |
closed primary | 3 States presently have blanket primaries, while an additional 21 States have open primaries and 8 States have semi-closed primaries. |
to contest election | In every southern state the Democrats contested elections. |
debate | There's a debate about the political development. |
delegate | Delegates are to be elected. |
election | Any person qualified to vote may run for election. |
electoral register | In the USA election in 2000, many voters were removed from the electoral register in Florida. |
electoral system | Can you explain how the electoral system really works? |
electorate | Only 60% of the electorate voted in the last election. |
electors | The electors can vote for any person at all and are not bound to their party. |
eligible | The elections process is provided to all eligible citizens. |
embassy | In Slovakia you can find the embassy of the USA in Bratislava. |
federal | What are federal regulations? |
general election | The General Election took place on 15th October 1964. |
government, the Administration | The first White House Web Site was developed during the Clinton Administration. |
impeachment | Clinton's impeachment was over before it began. |
inaugural address | The inaugural address is the statement of the beginning of a political administration. |
majority | She is elected by a majority of two hundred votes. |
minority | Most of the ethnic minorities did not have a written language. |
national convention | The candidate is formally nominated at the national convention. |
open primary | 3 States presently have blanket primaries, while an additional 21 States have open primaries and 8 States have semi-closed primaries. |
opinion poll | They've organised an opinion poll. |
party in government | He led the party in government from 1994 to 1997 . |
party leader | The election of the new party leader was connected with a number of scandals. |
party member | Many local party members are optimistic about the campaign. |
policy | We talked about the policy on education. |
politician | Politicians are our servants not our masters. |
politics | I told her I was going into politics. |
presidential candidate | The Presidential candidate that gets more than half of the votes wins the election. |
primary | Primaries are held in South Carolina, Arizona, Missouri, Delaware and Oklahoma. |
progress | The government has made progress in controlling mismanagement. |
public office | Cleveland's motto was: "a public office is a public trust". |
regulations | This guide covers the rules and regulations. |
speech | He made the announcement in a speech on the radio. |
suffrage | The Fifth Amendment aimed to protect black suffrage. |
summit | The Genoa G8 summit was held in July. |
supporter | He was a Kennedy supporter. |
the Electoral College | The electoral college plays a huge role in the election process. |
the political process | The political process has reached a critical phase. |
to cast a vote | They cast a vote for the first time. |
to defeat | In 2000 Bush defeated Gore. |
to nominate | The candidate is formally nominated at the national convention. |
to run | Bill Clinton ran a second time in 1996. |
to support so. | They support the two-party system. |
to vote | They have the right to vote. |
turnout | There was an article about the poor turnout for elections. |
two-party system | The two-party system is often criticised. |
voter | Now the voters can decide. |
Translate into English.
1. Его назначили послом доброй воли в Индии.
2. Закрытое собрание членов политической партии было назначено на 16 марта.
3. Это были опротестованные выборы, поэтому его кандидатура вызвала много скандалов.
4. Председатель не может присутствовать на собрании, поэтому он передал своё право голоса секретарю.
5. Списки избирателей были неполными.
6. В Англии довольно простая избирательная система. Каждый избирательный округ представлен в палате Общин одним членом парламента.
7. Он имеет право на переизбрание.
8. Ей нравилась работа в посольстве, хотя порой она требовала от нее немалых усилий.
9. Если действия нового Президента Украины Виктора Януковича будут противоречить Конституции Украины, то его ждет импичмент.
10. Он долго репетировал речь при вступлении в должность, но все равно очень нервничал.
11. Задолго до национальных партийных съездов кандидатов он уже набрал количество голосов, необходимое для победы на партийном съезде.
12. опрос общественного мнения доказал, что он самый популярный кандидат в президенты.
13. Внешняя политика страны страдает от некомпетентности премьер-министра.
14. Всеобщее избирательное право – одно из главных прав, которым наделены граждане нашей станы.
15. Из-за хорошей погоды в день выборов явка избирателей была низкой.
16. Первичные выборы практикуются в штатах Вашингтон и Аляска.